bb

I have a MY98 Legacy TT and when I looked under the bonnet after a long drive the other day, I found that a cable which bolts to the top of the alternator had got so hot that it melted all the plastic around the cable for about 15cm in length.

It was so hot that the cable and the bolt holding it to the alternator was glowing red. I took it to a garage immediately and the guy said it was probably the cable oxidising over time and wasn't passing electricity properly, building up resistance and hence heat. He followed along the length of the cable and cut the damaged part and spliced another section of cable to it.

It has been driving fine since (but there wasn't really anything noticable before either) but I am a bit paranoid now because the guy at the garage said I was lucky I noticed this myself or I could have had fire sooner or later.

Has anyone any idea as to why this happened besides the cable really getting old. My car is not really that old and it's surprising to find the cable in this condition. Makes me wonder what other parts of cabling are on its way out but are out of site. I asked about replacing all the cabling in the engine bay and we're talking over a grand for parts and labour apparently!

Thanks for any thoughts..I'd like to post a picture but don't know how to do it. Sorry.

MACH1

[QUOTE=bb]I think you'll find that somebody has changed this cable in the past and have fitted a low resistance one,i suggest that you take it to an auto electrician to get it sorted, as splicing cables is not recommended in most cases,
as this could result in overheating again,hope you have luck, MACH1.